Australia Overcome England to Secure Ashes
According to leader the England captain, the national team were handed a brutal "wake-up call" as the Kangaroos secured the Rugby League Ashes.
The Kangaroos' decisive 14-4 win at the Merseyside venue on the weekend gave them a 2-0 series lead, making next week's final match in Leeds a dead rubber.
The national squad had come into the series harbouring hopes of sending the Kangaroos to their initial series loss since 1970.
In the past two years, they had achieved a clean sweep over Tonga and a 2-0 triumph over the Samoan team. But as the prestigious competition resumed after a two-decade hiatus, the English were failed to make the leap against the top-ranked team.
"We take full responsibility. We've had enough preparations to perform correctly on the pitch, and it's clear we've quite done that," Williams told.
"Full marks to the Kangaroos. They were excellent in defense. But there's plenty to work on. It seems not as strong as we expected we were going into this series.
"So it's a necessary reality check for us, and there is much to enhance."
The Kangaroos 'Turn Up and Prove Ruthless'
The Kangaroos registered two touchdowns in a five-minute spell during the closing segment of the second Test
After being comprehensively defeated in an error-strewn display at Wembley, England's were significantly better on the weekend back in the rugby league heartlands of northern England.
During an energetic first half, England forced mistakes from the Kangaroos and had all the field position and ball control, but crucially did not convert opportunities on the points tally.
Notably, England have now managed just one try over 160 minutes, with player Daryl Clark scoring late on in the defeat in London.
In contrast, the Kangaroos have accumulated six so far - and when errors began to appear in the England's play just after the half-time, it was a case of certainty, they were going to be made to pay.
Initially the playmaker went over, and then so too did Hudson Young. From being level at four-all, the home side were down by double digits.
"Satisfied for the bulk of the game. I thought for 70 minutes we were solid," said Wane.
"The lapse for a brief period after half-time cost us severely. Munster's try was avoidable and should not be scored in a international fixture.
"We're devastated. Extremely pleased the players had a go but so disappointed with that post-interval, which proved costly significantly."
While the upcoming global tournament in Australia and Papua New Guinea is just under next year, the team's primary concern will be on trying to regain respect, preventing a series whitewash and eliminating the errors that irritated the coach.
"I wanted to see greater effort directed toward the opposition. My aim was us to build pressure in the game - we fell short last week," added the 61-year-old.
"We managed this week. It's just a bit of detail in our attack where we could have put them under greater stress. It's essential to stop each of [tries] with greater resolve.
"Credit to Australia - that is no detriment to them. They perform and are ruthless when they get a chance, and we failed to be, but defensively we must do improve.
"They will be determined to win the series whitewash and we need to be obsessed to make it 2-1. I've said that to the squad. It has to be our primary goal. It will be a challenging week but the side that desires it the most will secure victory next week."
Competitive Edge Must to Increase in Super League
The English side have played a similar number of international fixtures to Australia since the last World Cup in recent years.
Yet Wane argues that the quality of the NRL - and quality of the domestic rivalry matches between New South Wales and Queensland - provide a superior preparation for competing at the top of the international game than what is on offer in the Europe.
Wane added that the hectic Super League calendar left no time for him to train his players during the campaign, which will only raise additional concerns around how England can narrow the difference to the Kangaroos before travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the next World Cup.
"The Australians participate in a large number of internationals in their league," he stated.
"We have ten to fifteen a year. We need really intense games to enhance the domestic league and improve our chances of succeeding in these types of matches.
"It was impossible to even practice with the players. We never trained together in the campaign and despite having the full backing of everyone in the domestic competition.
"I have also been in the boots of the head coaches that need to win games. The competition is that tight. It's a pity but that's not the reason we lost today."
